Rock Harbor Series - 04 - Abomination Read Online Free PDF Page A

her cherubic cheeks were flushed with color.
    Sunshine streamed past the curtains. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want to try to think. Her fingers touched the knot on her head, and she winced. Even the light touch of her fingers caused pain. She was afraid to look at it.
    Her name was Elena . . . Elena what? Surely she could remember the full name this morning. No pictures rose to the surface of the fog that shrouded her memories. Nothing about the home she lived in, the yard, her parents, siblings. Her gaze touched the sleeping child. No memories of Terri’s birth came. No snippets of past events like a first tooth or the day she crawled or walked. Nothing.
    Just an empty blankness. And fear. Terror leaped out of the shadows of her mind, and she bolted upright. Throwing back the bedding, she swung her legs out of bed and stumbled to her feet. She had to get away. Stepping to the window, she looked out on a town worthy of Currier and Ives. An idyllic small town with Victorian storefronts, the blue of a lake on one side, and green forest on the other.
    Her fear began to swirl away as she drank in the peaceful scene. Surely she was safe here. While she had no real idea of where she was, the place seemed remote. Later she would ask Bree to show her the location on a map. The car was gone, sunken in the lake. No one knew where she was.
    Elena turned away from the perfect view and found Terri’s backpack. No address book, electronic or otherwise. But even if she’d found it, she would have been afraid to call anyone. What could she say?
    Hello, this is Elena. Who are you, and how do you know me? What’s my last name? Where do I live?
    She sighed and glanced around for her clothes. Gathering them up, she went to the bathroom. It was charming, with a claw-foot tub encircled by a shower curtain that hung from the ceiling. She turned on the water and let it warm. Once she was showered and dressed, she’d figure out what to do.
    A movement to her left caught her eye, and she flinched. A woman she’d never seen stared back at her. She realized it was her own image in the mirror. Long blonde hair, haunted blue eyes, a bruise that covered nearly her entire forehead, and a lump the size of a boulder on her temple. Scrawny too. Her breastbone stuck out of her skin, but her arms and legs were muscular.
    She stepped closer and peered in the mirror. Running her fingers over the planes and angles of her face, she willed herself to remember. Anything, even a single memory would have reassured her. But there was nothing.
    She dropped her hand and went to the tub. Stepping into the flow of water, she flinched when the hot water touched the raw cuts on her head and face. The water at her feet turned pink from the blood in her hair. She had a feeling she was lucky to be alive.
    Someone had tried to kill her. She didn’t know how she knew, but she recognized the seriousness of the attack.
    She scrubbed herself all over, watching the red and brown swirl together down the drain. When she washed her feet, she noticed they were calloused and ugly. The nails were devoid of polish. She was obviously no princess. Her fingers touched the necklace around her neck.
    Ballet slippers. Could that be why her feet were in such rough shape? Maybe she was a dancer. Standing in the shower, she flexed onto the balls of her feet. It felt good to stretch, to use the strong muscles in her legs. Maybe it was a clue.
    Fifteen minutes later, she went in search of the heavenly smell wafting up the steps. Maybe food would help revive her memory. Terri was still sleeping, so she followed the sound of voices.
    Kade’s voice was loudest. “Did you find out anything about our guest?”
    “Not really,” Bree answered. “She’s really scared though, Kade. I wonder if her husband abused her.”
    Elena couldn’t even remember what her husband looked like. Her fingers curled around the doorjamb. Her right hand crept to the ring finger of her left again. She knew